Thorns

[WeAreSuperhero]

Thorns
Love and meteorites

Latest News! ~ 20/09/08
I've released a prologue demo!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2F5IWM2P

I admit that it's not very long, but I'm fairly proud of it and I'd like you guys to see it. It'll show you the beginning of the game - from that point onwards the adventuring begins proper.

I'd love to see what you think of it!

Story
There is a secret lurking at the edges of Bordo. Beyond the fringes of the island lies the sea and beyond that... anybody who has dared enter the storms has not returned alive. Bordo lies completely alone, cut off from whatever lies beyond it. And one night, as the sky crackled as it never had before, and the rain fell in torrents, and the waves crashed 'gainst the shoreline, something fell from the sky. A meteor. It changed everything.

Its influences spread like a cancer.


The heroes

Russell (17)
Russell lives with a foster father in the small farming community of Oriodos who is apprenticing him in the ways of barding and narration. He has a literary and philosophical outlook on life which can leave him sometimes blind to the reality of situations. Thanks to his upbringing he is also very much a romantic, but his harsh training has left him shy in intimate situations. He comes into his stride when addressing crowds, or acting, as he considers it a form of storytelling. In a bid to become more confident so he can declare his love to Audrey he starts imagining life as a story, which leads to him narrating.

Audrey (17)
Apart from Russell, Audrey has been brought up in Oriodos as an outcast, because of her father. She has a massive emotional carapice and is naturally suspicious of people until she can be sure that she won't be betrayed. With Russell, she is capricious and more open-minded - the two compliment each other well. She is more rugged than he is, and fights with fists instead of words and melody.

Charlie (33)
The seaside port of Rhendall has suffered a terrible ordeal, of which Charlie is the only survivor - and this survival comes at a terrible cost. As a person, Charlie was the most charming, confident person you could hope to meet. His accident - one he considers even worse than what happened to those around him - changed everything.

More heroes to come!

The villains
Duncan (18)
Duncan was a farm boy, working the fields outside of Oriodos. He suffered a horrendous upbringing and repressed 18 years of emotions, which were all cathartically released with the help of the meteor. It has done something to Duncan. It changed him.

General November (56)
The meteors power is creating havoc throughout the island and General November has taken the initiative to overthrow the First Minister and become the ruler of the island.

More villains to come!

The World
Bordo
Bordo may be little more than a collection of damp islands, but for its inhabitants it is the known world. a series of vicious lightning storms surround the island, preventing any escape – though the concept is constantly discussed in the popular literature and media. There are two main islands, with a collection of volcanic remains situated between the two. The westward island, Vita, is inhabited by a population of around 20 000 people in total, with the vast majority living in one of the two largest cities, In Primo Luogo and Pavimento. There are a number of smaller villages, who mainly farm for a living, or produce some sort of commodity which is then collected by traveling merchants and taken to one of the two big cities. The village Russell and Audrey hail from, Oriodos, is one of these villages.

The other island is something far more sinister. Known as Terrono Incolto, it acts as an enormous refuse dump for the lavish lifestyles of Vita. All the rubbish and trash they make gets sent there via the gateway town of Ingresso Alla Prigione, though it got its name for the less ethical of the islands uses. The Vitian government uses Terrono Incolto as a giant prison. All the thieves, crooks, muggers and rapists. All the murderers, the bank robbers, all the forgery artists. They are all deported to the country, where they subside off the meagre vegetation produced by the land. Hunters are paid handsome rewards for bringing back infants from Terrono Incolto, for use as slaves in the upper-houses in In Primo Luogo.

Oriodos
Oriodos is a small community which has grown up along the sides of a main merchanting road. It's something of a truck stop for merchants. The few people who live there make a living by selling the produce they make to whoever stops there. There used to be an almost daily scrum as the people tried to get the merchants to buy what they had, but this practice has halted recently as a merchant called Duran has moved in. Duran has a deal with the merchants that they'll buy all he has relatively cheaply, but buy only from him in Oriodos. This allows him to have a monopoly over the villagers as he basically takes it over – the villagers have to fall over themselves to make him buy their produce. He often humiliates them. He is rotund, dull, and easily amused by his own antics. Everyone in the village openly resents the man.

Rhedall
Rhedall is nothing more than a little fishing village, situated a couple of miles from Oriodos. However, it is situated at a dead end over a craggy cliff face. The actual fishing is done using a system of ropes, nets and gondolas suspended over the rapids as they cascade towards the sea. Rhedall is rightly praised as a prime fishing location, because the rapids is one of the main outlets into the sea.

A good number more locations to come.

Screen Shots
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8061/s ... estcd1.png[/img]
http://img356.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... herrx2.png[/img]
http://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image ... eorjt9.png[/img]
http://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image ... yedia4.png[/img]

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/8382/oriodosdestroyedia4.th.png[/img]http://img20.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif[/img]http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/4136/oriodosleatherrx2.th.png[/img]http://img356.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif[/img]http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/1938/oriodosmeteorjt9.th.png[/img]http://img20.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif[/img]
~More screenshots arriving shortly~

Features

    * An enthralling love story set in the tumultuous world of Bordo!
    * An item-based levelling and skill learning system!
    * A simpler battling system based more on equipment than leveling!
    * Interesting battles featuring monsters who act in teams!
    * A game focusing on story and basic gameplay rather than spiffy yet useless features!
    * Entirely linear storyline development!

Downloads
Here is a teaser demo, showing the beginning of the game. Gimme some feedback!
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2F5IWM2P
Bugs List and Changes Since Demo
May feature slight spoilers

Spoiler

• When playing as Ruosou, don't lose to the first guard - if you die there you dont go back to the start, it bugs out and I have no idea currently how to fix it.
• When playing as Ruosou, if you run past the King into the next room, the kings health bar stays on screen - make sure to kill the king to make it go away! ~fixed
• If you attempt to interact the throne when you are not facing up, you will instead jump into the wall ~fixed

If you find this thread lacking in information in any way, shape or form, please tell me. If you find the concept interesting and wish to know more, please tell me. If you'd like to help, please tell me. If you want to give me criticisms then please tell me. If you want to mindlessly praise me then for gods sake please do so! ~ WeAreSuperhero

 

[Crystalgate]

He has a literary and philosophical outlook on life which can leave him sometimes blind to the reality of situations.

This is very interesting seeing as a lot of RPG protagonists suffer from a similar condition. Take Sora from Kingdom Hearts for example, he sure like talking about light, darkness, hearts and in CoM even memories and often the stuff he spews out is completely inane. The difference is that those RPG protagonist are usually put in a world where their outlook turns out to be applicable to the situations they encounter despite that it really shouldn't.

Anyway, I think your tread is a bit lacking in information regarding the world and the characters. Let's have a look at this:

* An enthralling love story set in the tumultuous world of Bordo!

In order for a love story to work, you need great characterization. In particular, the characters involved in the love story has to be characters I care about. There's no way to know until I play the game, but it definitely helps if you convince me that this is likely to be the case. Also, if you point out that the story is set in "the tumultuous world of Bordo" you should try to make Bordo also look interesting. Try to think about what's great about your world and it's characters and try to showcase it without actually spoiling things.

* A simpler battling system based more on equipment than individual stats!

How does basing it more on equipment than individual stats make it simpler?

* Interesting battles featuring monsters who act in teams!
* A game focusing on story and basic gameplay rather than spiffy yet useless features!

This really sounds great. One properly implemented feature is better than hundreds of sloppily added ones.

 

[WeAreSuperhero]

This is very interesting seeing as a lot of RPG protagonists suffer from a similar condition. Take Sora from Kingdom Hearts for example, he sure like talking about light, darkness, hearts and in CoM even memories and often the stuff he spews out is completely inane. The difference is that those RPG protagonist are usually put in a world where their outlook turns out to be applicable to the situations they encounter despite that it really shouldn't.

What do you mean by that, that he encounters lots of light, darkness and hearts? I'm afraid I'm not getting what you're implying =/

Anyway, I think your tread is a bit lacking in information regarding the world and the characters. Let's have a look at this:

* An enthralling love story set in the tumultuous world of Bordo!

In order for a love story to work, you need great characterization. In particular, the characters involved in the love story has to be characters I care about. There's no way to know until I play the game, but it definitely helps if you convince me that this is likely to be the case. Also, if you point out that the story is set in "the tumultuous world of Bordo" you should try to make Bordo also look interesting. Try to think about what's great about your world and it's characters and try to showcase it without actually spoiling things.

Well, I've made a start on that last point at least. Instead of posting everywhere you can go, I think I'll just post the most interesting... and I absolutely agree with you about character - I've seen so many stories where there is supposed to be a romantic subplot and it just fizzles, for so many reasons. Bad writing, bad characterization, people doing things they really shouldn't (i.e. its not in their character to do it, not that its ethically wrong)... when done well, romantic plots are fantastic, but so often they just feel tacked-on and devoid of passion. Its something I definately want to avoid.

* A simpler battling system based more on equipment than individual stats!

How does basing it more on equipment than individual stats make it simpler?

I should phrase this differently. A simpler battling system based more on equipment than leveling. In this case, though upgrading your base stats is definitely possible, through the use of items, it is by equipping weapons and armour that you significantly boost yourself. I personally think that this will be more fun than grinding because it encourages you to explore the region rather than running around outside an inn for a couple of hours.

* Interesting battles featuring monsters who act in teams!
* A game focusing on story and basic gameplay rather than spiffy yet useless features!

This really sounds great. One properly implemented feature is better than hundreds of sloppily added ones.

Thanks! I hate it when people have things like cooking systems, fishing systems, materia systems, sphere grid systems and whatnot all bundled together just because they can, or because itll increase the people who might enjoy their game or whatever stupid reason people like that give.

Crystalgate, I wish more people like you existed. You actually give decent c&c <3

 

[Crystalgate]

What do you mean by that, that he encounters lots of light, darkness and hearts? I'm afraid I'm not getting what you're implying =/

Sorry if I wasn't clear. What I meant is, a lot of RPG protagonists have a lacking grasp on reality, such as when they imply that they will beat their enemy thanks to the power of friendship. However, instead of that outlook being portrayed as something that, while sounding nice, doesn't really work very well in reality, it's portrayed as some kind of wisdom that ultimately allows them to save the world. Sora was just used as an example.

In this game we also have a protagonist with a somewhat lacking grasp on reality, only you're actually portraying it for what it is.

Anyway, thanks for the updated information. Russel and Audrey looks like an awesome duo and your world really does seem interesting now.

I should phrase this differently. A simpler battling system based more on equipment than leveling. In this case, though upgrading your base stats is definitely possible, through the use of items, it is by equipping weapons and armour that you significantly boost yourself. I personally think that this will be more fun than grinding because it encourages you to explore the region rather than running around outside an inn for a couple of hours.

That was much clearer. Will there still be a significant difference regarding what the various characters excels at?

 

[WeAreSuperhero]

Sorry if I wasn't clear. What I meant is, a lot of RPG protagonists have a lacking grasp on reality, such as when they imply that they will beat their enemy thanks to the power of friendship. However, instead of that outlook being portrayed as something that, while sounding nice, doesn't really work very well in reality, it's portrayed as some kind of wisdom that ultimately allows them to save the world. Sora was just used as an example.

In this game we also have a protagonist with a somewhat lacking grasp on reality, only you're actually portraying it for what it is.

Oh, right, I getcha =]. I assure you, there will be no 'power of friendship' speeches. There will be friendship, and speeches, but I assure you that the two will never be combined. Thats a cliche too far =p.

Anyway, thanks for the updated information. Russel and Audrey looks like an awesome duo and your world really does seem interesting now.

Ohh what I've shown you of that world so far is just the tip of the iceberg! Thanks for the praise though =]

That was much clearer. Will there still be a significant difference regarding what the various characters excels at?

Indeed there will be. Certain characters will not be able to equip certain weapons (how original is that right?) ensuring that the skills and stat bonuses each characters get won't mutate them horrendously out of proportion.

 

[sakabilli]

this game looks great im lovin it aha
im new to rm, what tileset is that? is that an rtp of rpgm2000 or something?

 

[WeAreSuperhero]

this game looks great im lovin it aha
im new to rm, what tileset is that? is that an rtp of rpgm2000 or something?

Its not rm2000 RTP, but it was from a RM2K game. Theyre really easy to find on the net, and then you can convert them to RMXP tileset format pretty simply. Thanks for your support about the game ;-)

 

[dadevvtsvre]

Is that Mack & Blue's chipset you're using? (heh heh...chipset. Man, I miss those days.) I know I've seen it before, in fact I've used it a couple of times in some of my older games. Whoever made it, it would probably be nice to give them credit for it. (not entirely necessary, but it would be proper) The first screenshot looks particularly nice, although the second done seems a little lacking. The road seems too straight and the marks don't look natural. Your use of fog makes them even more appealing.

Your two screenshots though are pretty much the same thing and don't tell us much about the game. I suggest putting pictures of perhaps the battle system or dialogue to give people who just like to look at screenshots (guilty) something more interesting. Usually if people like me enjoy what they see, they'll read over the rest and the game will spark more interest. Anyway, I'll probably give a more proper critique some other time, maybe tomorrow. (although "love and meteorites" isn't a very attractive title, dontcha think?)

 

[Despain]

hey that's ptoing's avatar >:O

 

[seto9008]

nice ss, except its a bit to dark in that world of yours >_<

 

[Dark_Cover]

I agree it's a bit dark, But non-the-less i like the tiles...I'll keep an Eye on this to see what comes of it...

P.S. Bordo reminds me of Planet of the Apes some how

 

[WeAreSuperhero]

RMXP.ORG.
I've released a prologue demo!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2F5IWM2P

I admit that it's not very long, but I'm fairly proud of it and I'd like you guys to see it. It'll show you the beginning of the game - from that point onwards the adventuring begins proper.

I'd love to see what you think of it!

 

[Crystalgate]

The forced dialogs are usually good (sometimes I didn't know what some characters were trying to tell though) and I think you did a good job of presenting Russel's and Audrey's personalities. The optional NPC dialogs are of "Welcome to Corneria!" quality which is OK if we soon get out of the town, but not so good if we have to stay there longer or if one is supposed to care about the town. Regardless, I think Russel's foster father should have a name, even if he isn't supposed to be important.

I encountered some bugs when playing Russel's imaginary character. First I lost to the king or something, I was sent back down. When I got to the king the next time, I couldn't interact with him at all. Also, if you interact with the throne from another direction than from under it, the character will start playing ghost for a while and move into the wall.

Anyway, I restarted and got to the king again. This time I just ran past him into the next room. The game continued to the next scene, but the king's life bars remained on the screen for the rest of the demo.

 

[WeAreSuperhero]

The forced dialogs are usually good (sometimes I didn't know what some characters were trying to tell though)

Thanks! Could you give some examples of the vagueness? I can only think of maybe not being sure of what to do after you find Audrey in the forest, and I just rectified this to make it easier to understand.

and I think you did a good job of presenting Russel's and Audrey's personalities. The optional NPC dialogs are of "Welcome to Corneria!" quality which is OK if we soon get out of the town, but not so good if we have to stay there longer or if one is supposed to care about the town. Regardless, I think Russel's foster father should have a name, even if he isn't supposed to be important.

1. Thanks again =]
2. Really? I mean, I intend to stick in a few side quests for vague empathy and early level building, but I thought the NPCs were alright. Its not much, but most of them had four or five things to say, some of it before and some of it after the rains started. I dont mind writing NPC dialogue though so thanks for the headsup that I need a bit more of it. Or better writing in any case ;-) but dont worry, you dont stay in the town much longer...
3. Done =] the beginning bit has been renamed from Old Man to Hanbrook, same as the rest of the demo.

I encountered some bugs when playing Russel's imaginary character. First I lost to the king or something, I was sent back down. When I got to the king the next time, I couldn't interact with him at all. Also, if you interact with the throne from another direction than from under it, the character will start playing ghost for a while and move into the wall.

Anyway, I restarted and got to the king again. This time I just ran past him into the next room. The game continued to the next scene, but the king's life bars remained on the screen for the rest of the demo.

Thanks for this! I think I've fixed these issues in the game.

I've not reuploaded it just yet, I figure I'll add a bit more gameplay first so people have a bit more to play through, ala side quests and the first dungeon/ first fights and suchlike =] (I'll put up a bug list so people know whats up with it). Thanks a lot for being so prompt in looking at the teaser though!

 

[Crystalgate]

Thanks! Could you give some examples of the vagueness? I can only think of maybe not being sure of what to do after you find Audrey in the forest, and I just rectified this to make it easier to understand.

I played again and paid more attention. What happened was that the first time I failed to remember who is who and got confused.

2. Really? I mean, I intend to stick in a few side quests for vague empathy and early level building, but I thought the NPCs were alright. Its not much, but most of them had four or five things to say, some of it before and some of it after the rains started. I dont mind writing NPC dialogue though so thanks for the headsup that I need a bit more of it. Or better writing in any case ;-) but dont worry, you dont stay in the town much longer...

I don't think the NPCs need more dialogs, rather I think more of them need an identity. It's things like "who does what" and "which NPC has what personality" I'm thinking of. This goes mainly for NPCs that take part in the plot and the upcoming side quest providers.

"Welcome to Corneria" was an exaggeration though, sorry.

 

[WeAreSuperhero]

Well, I've completed the introduction! I'm now going back and adding in sidequests to Oriodos - at first I was unsure as to whether or not to do this, because you really dont spend a lot of time in there and aren't forced to explore, but I realised a few things that I'm one of the sorts of people who explore towns as soon as I go there - and I would want to find lots of things to do, whether or not I stayed in there for a long time. But so this isnt a completely useless bump, I've added a couple of screenshots to the project topic!

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/8382/oriodosdestroyedia4.th.png[/img]http://img20.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif[/img]http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/4136/oriodosleatherrx2.th.png[/img]http://img356.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif[/img]http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/1938/oriodosmeteorjt9.th.png[/img]http://img20.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif[/img]

Has anyone else had the chance to play the demo yet?

 

[bluehazed]

Me likes. I'll download the demo.
I've always had a secret RM2K fetish.

 

[WeAreSuperhero]

Me likes. I'll download the demo.
I've always had a secret RM2K fetish.

Hey, me too its nothing to be ashamed of.
What did you think?

 

[bluehazed]

Ok, I liked.
Found a few bugs though, and one wouldn't let me continue as Ruosou.
1. The eventing at the beginning of the game showed a glimpse of the start map before entering the black screen. If you ask me, make the black screen a blank map with no character graphic, then teleport to the start map and change the character graphic to what you want it to be.
2. There was a typo somewhere when Russel was talking to Audrey.
3. You misspelled Ruosou when he was first talking, I assume that "Ruosou" is the correct spelling.
4.

Spoiler: Passability

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i143/bluehazed/bug1.png[/img]

Otherwise, I liked it. I'll be keeping an eye on this :D

 

[WeAreSuperhero]

Ok, I liked.
Found a few bugs though, and one wouldn't let me continue as Ruosou.
1. The eventing at the beginning of the game showed a glimpse of the start map before entering the black screen. If you ask me, make the black screen a blank map with no character graphic, then teleport to the start map and change the character graphic to what you want it to be.
2. There was a typo somewhere when Russel was talking to Audrey.
3. You misspelled Ruosou when he was first talking, I assume that "Ruosou" is the correct spelling.
4.

Spoiler: Passability

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i143/bluehazed/bug1.png[/img]

Otherwise, I liked it. I'll be keeping an eye on this :D

:$ I didn't realise that I didn't change Ruosou's name! And I fixed that thing at the beginning, it looks muchos better now =].

I couldn't find the typos though =/ and that last passability issue isnt . I've made it clearer in-game now, but there's a switch in that room somewhere to unlock the door.
But hey, thanks for playing! I'm glad you liked it =]